_off_San_Francisco%2c_3_August_1943.jpg) Hoel anchored off San Francisco, 2 August 1943 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Hoel |
| Namesake | William R. Hoel |
| Builder | Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation, San Francisco, California |
| Laid down | 4 June 1942 |
| Launched | 19 December 1942 |
| Commissioned | 19 July 1943 |
| Honours and awards | Presidential Unit Citation, Philippine Presidential Unit Citation, 5 Battle Stars |
| Fate | Sunk by Japanese battleshipsYamato andNagato and heavy cruiserHaguro, 25 October 1944,Battle off Samar |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Fletcher-classdestroyer |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 376 ft 6 in (114.76 m) |
| Beam | 39 ft 8 in (12.1 m) |
| Draft | 17 ft 9 in (5.4 m) |
| Installed power | 60,000 shp (45,000 kW) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 38knots (70 km/h; 44 mph) |
| Range | 6,500 nmi (7,500 mi; 12,000 km) @ 15 kn (17 mph; 28 km/h) |
| Complement | 273 |
| Sensors & processing systems | QC seriessonar |
| Armament |
|
_at_sea%2c_10_August_1944.jpg)
USSHoel (DD-533) was aFletcher-classdestroyer built for theUnited States Navy duringWorld War II. She was named afterLieutenant CommanderWilliam R. Hoel. Commissioned in 1943, she is famous for helping to fend off a much larger Japanese center force at theBattle off Samar during theBattle of Leyte Gulf on 25 October 1944. She most notably assisted in forcing the battleshipYamato to retire from the battle with torpedo strikes. However, she did not live to tell the tale, first being crippled by gunfire from the battleshipNagato and the heavy cruiserHaguro, then finished off byYamato's secondary armament.Hoel was awarded with theUnited States Presidential Unit Citation,Hoel received thePhilippine Presidential Unit Citation and fivebattle stars for her service during the second world war.
TheFletcher-class destroyers were designed, beginning in October 1939, to be large enough to adequately carry the armament of the precedingGleaves-class destroyers.[1][2] From January 1940 to the end ofWorld War II, 175Fletcher-class destroyers were built.[3]
As aFletcher-class,Hoeldisplaced 2,100long tons (2,134 t) under her standard load and 2,544 long tons (2,585 t) at full load.[4] She had anoverall length of 376 feet 6 inches (114.76 m), with adraft of 13 feet 6 inches (4.11 m) andbeam of 39 feet 4 inches (11.99 m).[5] She was powered by twoGeneral Electricsteam turbines and fourBabcock & Wilcoxboilers, which produced 60,000shaft horsepower (45,000 kW) and a top speed of 38knots (70 km/h; 44 mph). With a fuel capacity of 492short tons (446 t) offuel oil,Hoel had a range of 6,500nautical miles (12,000 km; 7,500 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph). She was crewed by 273enlisted men andofficers.[6]
Hoel's armor measured 0.75 inches (19 mm) thick on its sides and 0.5 inches (13 mm) on the deck over its machinery. Her primary armament consisted of amain battery of fivedual-purpose5 in (127 mm)/38 cal. guns, guided by aMark 37 Gun Fire Control System, ten21 in (530 mm) torpedo tubes guided by a Mark 27 Torpedo Fire Control System, and sixdepth charge projectors with two tracks guided by a Mark 27 Depth Charge Fire Control System. Heranti-aircraft battery was made up by ten40 mm (1.6 in) Bofors guns and seven20 mm (0.79 in) Oerlikon cannons, each guided by aMark 51 Fire Control System. She was equipped with a QC seriessonar.[7]
Hoel waslaunched on 19 December 1942 by theBethlehem Steel Co.,San Francisco, California, sponsored by Mrs. Charles Bunker Crane, Jr., granddaughter of the namesake; andcommissioned on 29 July 1943.
Hoel sailed from San Francisco Bay 16 August 1943 for shakedown training in operating areas out ofSan Diego during which she made sevendepth charge runs on an underwater sound contact with unknown results. After returning toMare Island Naval Shipyard 17 September 1943 for final alterations, she cleared San Francisco 26 October 1943 as a part of the screen for a convoy which reachedPearl Harbor 31 October 1943 whereHoel reported toCaptain Albert George (A. G.) Cook, Commander of Destroyer Squadron 47 (DesRon 47), who then shifted his flag to her fromHeermann.
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Fifth Fleet, which was then preparing to take theGilbert Islands inOperation Galvanic, assignedHoel toRear AdmiralKelly Turner's Northern attack force Task Force 52 (TF 52). She joinedMorris,Franks, andHughes andRevenge in guarding Air Support Group 52.3 composed of theescort carriersLiscome Bay,Coral Sea, andCorregidor.
Hoel sortied from Pearl Harbor with her group 10 November 1943 and guarded her "baby flattops" as their aircraft poundedMakin in a dawn preinvasion attack 20 November 1943. For the next three days,torpedo bombers and fighters from Air Support Group 52.3 supportedMajor GeneralRalph C. Smith's27th Infantry Division as it struggled totake Makin. Thousands of bombs and countless rounds from the guns on these aircraft smashed Japanese troop concentrations, gun emplacements, and shore installations on the island. Before dawn 24 November 1943, atorpedo fired byJapanese submarine I-175 struckLiscome Bay amidships and lookouts on the fantail ofCoral Sea spotted the wake of a second torpedo which barely missed their ship. Bluejackets on boardHoel saw smoke and flame rise at least a 1,000 feet (300 m) when the torpedo ripped intoLiscome Bay and detonated her bomb magazine. Rear AdmiralHenry M. Mullinnix, commander of the Air Support Group, CaptainIrving D. Wiltsie and 642 officers and men died with the carrier that sank some 23 minutes later after spewing smoke, flame and redhot aircraft parts for miles around. The groups destroyers rescued 272 survivors. At dusk the following day, 25 November 1943, Japanese aircraft spotted Rear Admiral Turner's task force steaming a few miles offButaritari Island and dropped both float and parachute flares on each side of his ships to light them up as targets for 13 torpedo bombers which swooped in to attack. Spirited gunnery and well-timed radical simultaneous turns, however, enabled the American vessels to escape without suffering a single hit.
When the escort carriers cleared the area at night 27 November 1943,Hoel joined the screen protecting Abemama Group l which was unloading onAbemama Island. The next morning,Hoel joined Rear Admiral Turner's task force and arrived offTarawa 1 December 1943 for antisubmarine patrol five miles (8 km) off the lagoon entrance. Two days later she joined the escort forTennessee and a group of transports sailing for Pearl Harbor where they arrived 11 December 1943. Captain A. G. Cook, commander of Destroyer Squadron 47 shifted his flag fromHoel toMcCord 14 December 1943.
Hoel with fleet units of the5th Amphibious Force, began intensive training for the invasion of theMarshall Islands. Departed Pearl Harbor 21 January 1944 with the transport screen of Reserve Force, Task Group 51.1 (TG 51.1) which steamed east ofKwajalein while Rear Admiral Turner's Joint Expeditionary Force landed on that atoll 31 January 1944.Hoel escorted the group's transports into Kwajalein Lagoon 2 February 1944, and the following day took station as aradar picket patrol ship south of Kwajalein where she was on call for gunfire support. On 6 February 1944, she accompaniedMiller on a tour of inspection in theRoi-Namur area for AdmiralChester Nimitz.
When Task Forces 51 and 53 dissolved and their ships reverted to Task Force 51,Hoel was assigned to Fire Support Section 3, Task Unit 51.17.3 (TU 51.17.3) of theEniwetok Expeditionary Group. In the early morning darkness of 17 February 1944,Hoel reentered Eniwetok Lagoon withPortland to bombardParry andJaptan Islands.Hoel picked up several aviators from a wrecked scout aircraft fromIndianapolis and returned them to their ship. That afternoonHoel's guns destroyed several small craft on the beach of Parry Island and fired on pillboxes and troop concentrations inland. She then anchored in standby position while the rest of the force bombarded the two islands. The next day,Hoel took her turn at providing harassing fire and at night illuminated the beaches and the reef to prevent enemy troop movements. Just before daybreak 19 February 1944, she took station off Eniwetok for close fire support of the initial landings. When relieved byPhelps on 21 February 1944,Hoel steamed to a position off the deep entrance to Eniwetok Lagoon for patrol duty which continued until 26 February 1944, when she embarked a fighter director team fromHazelwood and assumed duties of standby fighter director for the Eniwetok area. On 4 March 1944, 2 days later after the attack and occupation phase of Eniwetok was completed, the fighter-director team was transferred toCambria, freeingHoel to depart forMajuro for repairs.Hoel, in company with three other destroyers of DesRon 47 reported to Commander3d Fleet atPurvis Bay,Florida Island, 18 March 1944. The next day she cleared that port to join Task Force 39, but 20 March 1944 she was ordered to change course forEmirau Island which was then beingoccupied by marines. On 25 March 1944,Trathen andJohnston joinedHoel and the rest of DesRon 47 uniting the squadron for the first time.
Hoel then patrolled south and east ofCape Botiangen,New Hanover Island, where her guns destroyed an enemy warehouse 26 March 1944, and, the next day, captured documents which contained valuable information from a 4-foot (1.2 m) outrigger canoe. That night she made fourdepth charge runs on an underwater sound contact with unknown results. She returned to Purvis Bay on 8 April 1944 to screen a convoy carrying troops and supplies to Emirau Island.
Upon her return to Purvis Bay 14 April 1944,Hoel reported for duty to Rear AdmiralRobert W. Hayler, the commander of Cruiser Division 12 who kept her busy with training exercises and convoy duty until 14 August 1944, when she was assigned to the3d Amphibious Force then preparing for the invasion of thePalaus. She joinedKitkun Bay atEspiritu Santo 24 August 1944, for passage to Purvis Bay. On 8 September 1944 they put to sea for the Palau Islands with Rear Admiral W. D. Sample's escort carrier task force unit to provide air support during theinvasion of Peleliu. While continuing to screen the escort carriers, she rescued a pilot and passenger from an aircraft that had gone into the sea on attempting to take off fromOmmaney Bay and transferred them toMarcus Island. On 1 October 1944,Hoel made three depth charge runs on an underwater sound contact with unknown results.
After replenishing atSeeadler Harbor of Manus,Admiralty Islands,Hoel cleared that base with a fire support group 12 October 1944 to join Rear AdmiralThomas L. Sprague's escort carrier group (Task Group 77.4) in invading thePhilippines. Sprague's force was composed of three units, each comprising a group of escort carriers and a screen of destroyers and destroyer escorts. These units, known by their radio calls as the "Three Taffys", began operating offSamar 18 October 1944 to cover the landings onLeyte.Hoel was attached to "Taffy 3" (Escort Carrier Task Unit 77.4.3) commanded by Rear AdmiralClifton A. F. Sprague and comprising four escort carriers guarded by destroyersHoel,Heermann, andJohnston. Before theBattle off Samar, "Taffy 3" was reinforced by the arrival of AdmiralRalph A. Ofstie with two more escort carriers andDennis,John C. Butler,Raymond, andSamuel B. Roberts.
Dawn of 25 October 1944 found "Taffy 3" steaming northeast of Samar operating as the Northern Air Support Group. "Taffy 2" was in the central position patrolling off the entrance toLeyte Gulf, and "Taffy 1" covered the southern approaches to the Gulf some 150 miles (240 km) to the southeast ofHoel's "Taffy 3". Rear AdmiralClifton A. F. Sprague was under the erroneous impression that AdmiralWilliam Halsey's 3d Fleet was providing protection to the north and so was taken by surprise when at 06:45 "Taffy 3"'s lookouts observed anti-aircraft fire to the northward and within three minutes were under heavy fire fromVice AdmiralTakeo Kurita's powerful Center Force of 4battleships, 6heavy cruisers, 2light cruisers, and 11 destroyers.
The only chance for survival of the little group of American "Jeep" carriers and "tin cans" lay in running to the east long enough to launch what aircraft could be readied before fleeing to the south hoping that aid would arrive before their complete destruction. While the carriers launched all available aircraft to attack their numerous Japanese adversaries and then formed a rough circle as they turned toward Leyte Gulf,Hoel and her fellow destroyersJohnston andHeermann, worked feverishly to lay down a smoke screen to hide their "baby flattops" from the overwhelmingly superior enemy ships. At 07:06, when a providential rain squall helped to hide his carriers, Admiral Clifton Sprague boldly ordered his destroyers to attack the Japanese with torpedoes.Hoel instantly obeyed this order by heading straight for the nearest enemy battleship,Kongō, then 18,000 yards (16,000 m) away. When she had closed to 14,000 yards (13,000 m) she opened fire as she continued her race towardKongō. Kongō in turn failed to spotHoel, as she was blinded by a rain squall.[8]
However, at 10,300 yards, the Japanese heavy cruiserHaguro spotted a US "cruiser" attempting a torpedo charge and fired a full broadside of ten 8-inch (203 mm) guns.Haguro's target was none other thanHoel, which she mistook for a cruiser due to the poor weather and reports that Kurita's fleet was facing American fleet carriers. Raining fire,Hoel was immediately hit on the first salvo as two 8-inch (203 mm) shells fromHaguro sliced through her bridge and main battery director, disabling her FD radar, PPI scope, machine gun control, and radio communications. On her second salvo,Haguro hitHoel with another 8-inch (203 mm) shell which hit above her number 1 fire room, but inflicted no significant damage asHoel charged on. Had these shells exploded,Hoel would have been significantly more damaged, butHaguro mistook her for a cruiser and fired AP shells that overpenetrated her unarmored hull without exploding.[8][9]
In response,Hoel fired five torpedoes atKongō, but right afterwards she was hit simultaneously by three more 8-inch (203 mm) shells fromHaguro, the first two hit below the waterline and cut through her engine room and fire room, while the third started a fire in the handing room for her number 3 5-inch (127 mm) turret, the fire was extinguished in 3 minutes, but it still took the turret out of action. Had this shell exploded, it likely would have detonatedHoel's magazines. The port engine and after generator were also destroyed, dropping her speed by 4.5 knots. On her fourth salvo,Haguro hitHoel with three more 8-inch (203 mm) shells, one each hit and destroyed her turrets 4 and 5, while the third hit the stern and destroyed two 20 mm AA guns. Finally, a 5-inch (127 mm) shell fromHaguro's secondary battery exploded in her bow and caused minor flooding.[8][9]
A total of nine 8-inch (203 mm) shells and one 5-inch (127 mm) shell destroyed three ofHoel's five 5-inch (127 mm) gun, her port engine, after generator, bridge, and main battery director. Making things worse,Kongō spotted four ofHoel's five torpedoes, but they were too far off to affect the ship as she continued in a straight line. US sources often stateKongō was forced to evade those torpedoes in a hard turn, loosing track of the escort carriers, butKongo's own records do not support this. Some historians wrote of a 14-inch (356 mm) shell destroyingHoel's bridge, but her own records also fail to back up that claim.[8][9]
Horrifically scorched but not fully sunk,Hoel fired up a smokescreen and headed Southeast, regrouping withHeermann. At 7:50, the pair spotted what they believed to be a Japanese cruiser squadron led byHaguro. However,Hoel's target was actually theHaruna followed by the other Japanese battleships, including Admiral Kurita's flagship, theYamato.Hoel engaged in a gun duel with the largest and most powerful battleship ever made, firing 250 rounds from her two remaining 5-inch (127 mm) guns over the course of several minutes whileYamato responded with her own battery of 5-inch (127 mm) dual purposed guns,Hoel was successfully undamaged, and despite her shredded fire control managed to hitYamato with a pair of 5-inch (127 mm) shells that exploded inside one of her kitchens. AsHoel turned away, she fired her remaining five torpedoes at 8:53 which ran "hot, straight and normal." This time her crew was rewarded by the sight of large columns of water alongside their target, seemingly signifying hits. This observation may have been illusory, as neitherHaruna norHaguro received torpedo damage and explosions may have been near miss bombs from the constant air attacks. They missed their intended target,Haruna, but swam straight into the direction ofYamato andNagato. A few minutes later,Heermann fired two torpedoes at the same target, and both Japanese battleships were caught in between both spreads and forced out of the battle for an extended period of time, causing Admiral Kurita to lose control over the battlefield.[9][10]
However,Hoel did not escape without damage, before turning awayNagato engaged a US "cruiser" and fired off her main and secondary battery. One ofNagato's 5.5-inch (14 cm) shells destroyedHoel's forward engine and generator rooms, causing her to lose speed. Several more hit the ship's superstructure and set her on fire, while one ofNagato's 16.1-inch (41 cm) shells smashed throughHoel's bow. The damage causedHoel to further list 10 degrees to port.
Out of torpedoes,Hoel limped to the escort carriers. Despite the horrific damage inflicted byHaguro andNagato, Hoel still attempted to cover the escort carrier USSGambier Bay from attacking Japanese ships. At this point,Yamato had returned to the battle and was shreddingGambier Bay with long range gunfire, but at 8:34 she noticed the crippledHoel at 9,000 yards and pounced on the destroyer with her secondary battery.Hoel responded with her forward guns, but 6.1-inch (155 mm) gunfire got the better of her as a hit destroyed her last boiler, leavingHoel dead in the water. The disabled destroyer quickly became an easy target asYamato began to hitHoel more frequently, she was set ablaze and set her forward magazines on fire as practically every function on the ship was disabled. After sustaining over 40 shell hits, at 8:40Hoel listed at 20 degrees as the crew abandoned ship and left her to sink. The destroyerIsokaze inspected the sinkingHoel. Her crew wished to machine gun survivors as revenge for US pilots strafing Japanese survivors in the water. Captain Maeda, while half considering it, gave in to his conscience and ordered off an attack. Still,Isokaze sailed off without rescuing survivors asHoel finally rolled over and sank at 8:55.[11][12]
Only 86 ofHoel's complement survived; 253 officers and men died with their ship, at least 40 of them dying in the water while awaiting rescue. Commander Kintberger described the courageous devotion to duty of the men of theHoel in a seaman's epitaph to the action: "Fully cognizant of the inevitable result of engaging such vastly superior forces, these men performed their assigned duties coolly and efficiently until their ship was shot from under them." As they waited for rescue, the surviving crew watched a close up view ofYamato sailing right past them, which they described as “a ship so huge it takes your breath away.”. Nearly 48 hours after the destroyer’s demise, the American transport shipsLCI-341 andLCI-337 each rescuedHoel's survivors and brought them to Leyte Gulf for medical treatment and transfer back to the United States.[9]
In addition to theUnited States Presidential Unit Citation,Hoel received thePhilippine Presidential Unit Citation and fivebattle stars for World War II service.[5]
The William E. Taylor Division of theUS Naval Sea Cadet Corps is named after Watertender 2nd Class William E. Taylor, a native of Wilmington, Delaware, who died on the USSHoel. The division is based out of Kennett Square, Pennsylvania.
